thanks for everyones thoughts the reason i asked this was becauseof some of my personal experiences...
i have encountered sensei's that gave this whole semi-guilt trip thing, but i have met sensei's who give a different perspective which i think is more in line with the philosophy of aikido as i understand it(far from a master i am) i like to think that osensei made this art for everyone, and so the motives and goals are as varied as the aikidoka... do you have to be an "aiki-monk" or can you do it just for fun??? just doing aikido is considered a form of misogi ... so even "sporadic" training should be considered worthwhile... i do believe when you are on the mat you should be engaged and not just be horsing around... committing what time you have vs. "over" committing and letting other important aspects of your life slide... "mastery" gives me some problems... like a true master would never claim to be one and if aikido is infinitely rich then talk of mastery is not valid as there is no "point of mastery"... again the reason i got on this thread was because of my personal experiences with a few (not the majority) sensei's who kind of had a superior ie holier than thou attitude...
i was interested in other peoples thoughts on these points of philosophy as well as any personal encounters with aikidoka like this you may have had...